Features

Drone logistics start-up expands medical delivery in Madagascar

It has been a while since we wrote about AerialMetric; the only start-up to develop delivery drones made in Africa. The Madagascan drone company has been quietly making positive strides…

Latest on commercial drone stocks

Commercial drone research company Drone Industry Insights has shared its latest analysis about the performance of commercial drone services on the stock market. Read it all below; you can also…

Zipline’s plans to expand medical deliveries across Nigeria

Having already launched operations in three states in Nigeria, drone logistics company Zipline has now set its sights on covering the whole country. The American drone company has said it…

New DJI Air 3S: Perfect for photographers on the go

Drone maker DJI has released the DJI Air 3S, a small drone the company says was designed with travel photography in mind. Coming at less that a kilogram for a…

Drone light show at Botswana cultural festival

Having claimed Africa’s first ever gold medal in the 200-metre sprint at the Olympic Games, Botswana’s loud celebrations for its hugely talented athletic son, Letsile Tebogo’s record feat at the…

Understanding your drone market

With the commercial drone industry growing by leaps and bounds the world over; drone service providers need tangible information about how to scale up their operations, gain more clients and…

US lawmakers want Chinese crop spraying drones banned

As the latest chapter on drone maker DJI’s ordeal in the USA unfolds, the Chinese manufacturer has responded to last Friday’s letter by a dozen Republican US lawmakers, urging the…

About those drone swarms…

Most of us have probably associated drone swarms with light shows, where drone have flown in their hundreds in unison at various events where they have provided entertainment. But while…

Drones on South African mining sites

We think the best way to advocate for the integration of drone technology into industrial application is to actually show them at work. Which is why we are grateful for…

Only 135g: DJI debuts new lightweight drone

Just as they continue to chase perfect with enterprise solutions for the enterprise applications, DJI have not forgotten the everyday drone lover, as they have introduced a new lightweight drone,…

The WFP and humanitarian drone operations

In June this year, we attended the Drone & Unmanned Aviation Conference, South Africa’s flagship drone event where stakeholders in the country’s commercial drone space meet annually compare notes on…

Drone insurance in Africa: From the viewpoint of an insurer

In June this year, we attended the Drone & Unmanned Aviation Conference, South Africa’s flagship drone event where stakeholders in the country’s commercial drone space meet annually compare notes on…

Drones and security applications in Africa: Bidvest UDS

In June this year, we attended the Drone & Unmanned Aviation Conference, South Africa’s flagship drone event where stakeholders in the country’s commercial drone space meet annually compare notes on…

Zipline influence grows in Kenya

As drone logistics company spreads its reach in Kenya; we have covered how the American company has helped in the distribution of HIV medical implements in the county of Kisumu,…

Drone Chick on the convenience of drone technology

In June this year, we attended the Drone & Unmanned Aviation Conference, South Africa’s flagship drone event where stakeholders in the country’s commercial drone space meet annually compare notes on…

UTM and the future of drone logistics

You will remember that very recently, we covered a story where the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) broke new ground by giving licence for more than one drone to…

The importance of 5G networks to autonomous applications

The below article from the smart people at telecommunications giant Ericsson outlines the important role 5G and its fast connectivity can provide towards the more effective application of autonomous things;…

Drones, AI and mining surveys

Drone services company RocketDNA is going places, leveraging the data capturing capabilities of its xBot ecosystem, which is centred around the automated capabilities of the drone-in-a-box systems. We have written…

US’s Drones for First Responders bill: Implications for first responders

The fallout from DJI and other Chinese drones’ imminent ban from the US commercial drone market rages on, with first responders in the country decrying the pandemonium that is likely…

Flyability adds asset management to list of things the Elios 3 can do

We know we have previously covered how drone technology is applied to warehouse management, with Nokia’s drones seemingly have a hold on that segment of the market. Well; apparently Flyability…

Low altitude aviation and the future of sustainable energy systems

Kudos to Drone Industry Insights for choosing to discuss energy efficiency and sustainable, climate-friendly energy resources in today’s article. As more and more countries open up the lower atmosphere for…

DJI’s letter to US Congress

We think they do have to try, if only it may be for record purposes; but we do not think that the people at the forefront of fighting DJI’s ban…

The flip side of the delivery drone boom?

We found this research by Thao Pan, a research fellow at Monash University really interesting. While our observations of delivery by drone in Africa have been largely received in positive…

JoUAV launches revamped PH-20 drone

Chinese drone maker JOUAV has announced the launch of a revamped version of the PH-20 multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, a an enterprise drone system designed to enhance the efficiency and…

Drones in the construction industry

Today’s article from drone research professionals at Drone Industry Insights looks at drone technology in the agricultural industry. The original was published here. Following the in-depth look at drones in Energy and drones…

TikTok ban spooks DJI

The passing into law of a bill potentially banning Chinese addictive social media app TikTok by the US Congress is giving fellow Chinese addictive drone manufacturer, DJI, sleepless nights. In…

The future of cargo delivery; according to Drone Delivery Canada

For cargo drone company, Drone Delivery Canada – which recently merged operations with Volatus Aerospace – the future of cargo delivery is not doing away with conventional means of transport…

JoUAV launches new hangar system

Chinse drone manufacturer, JoUAV has launched the second generation of its drone nest solution, and below is more information about the new product’s features; which has been supplied by the…

State of the drone market: China

When it comes to innovation in the manufacturing side of the commercial drone industry, China is the capital, the hub, the heartbeat, the nerve centre, the Mecca of all things…

Drone Delivery Canada, Volatus Aerospace merge

American drone technology and services distribution company, Volatus Aerospace thinks the commercial drone industry is now ripe for the next stage of growth, which the company reckons can only be…

DJI Agras T50 and T25 released for worldwide market

Commercial drone manufacturing giant DJI has finally released its DJI Agras T50 and T25 model of agricultural drones for the worldwide market, with the T50 becoming the company’s new flagship…

Zipline has completed 1 million commercial deliveries

It might have been unremarkable in its simplicity but when Zip 856 made a landing to deliver two bags of IV fluid from Zipline’s distribution centre in Ghana’s Western North…

The rising importance of drone certification in drone legislation

Today, the research professionals at Drone Industry Insights have chosen to tackle the elephant in the room: Drone technology regulation and legislation. We know there are times when drone laws…

DJI joins the energy game with Portable Power Stations

Coming more often than we’d love to, there are times in our lives when we are outdoors and we need power. Perhaps we can be working on a project and…

State of the drone market: Nordic countries

Drone research company Drone Industry Insights’ preliminary analysis into various world drone markets this time makes a stopover in the Nordic countries. Let’s see where the opportunities lie for drone…

DJI releases the Avata 2

World leading commercial and civilian drone maker DJI has released the second version of its Avata model of first-person view (FPV) drones; and, judging by its online reception, it seems…

Drones, AI in asset management and monitoring

Artificial intelligence. We guess are valid arguments to be made on both sides with regards to this latest disruptive technology, which is promising to make previously cumbersome or dangerous tasks…

DJI Docks 2nd drone box

Chinese drone maker DJI is ramping up its drone box game with the release of the DJI Dock 2, the company’s second iteration of its drone-in-a-box solution. And unlike the…

Wing, DoorDash break into Virginia

Step by steady step, delivery drone technology is spreading across the USA, as it looks like delivery drone maker Wing and online food ordering and delivery platform DoorDash are becoming…

State of the drone market report: India

Today, our favourite researchers at Drone Industry Insights are in India, the land that named a drone after one of the most famous faces in world cricket. Being China’s neighbour,…

About drones in policing and public safety

After years of promises, false take-offs, failed trials and a few frustrations, it seems the integration of drone technology in African police organisations is beginning to take shape for real….

State of the Drone Report: South Korea

With globally renowned drone manufacturing and drone services companies that include DJI, Autel, Yuneec, Terra Drone and many others, it is safe to say Asia is the home of the…

The impact of drones in the fight against post-partum haemorrhage mortality

Yesterday, we took a peek back with drone logistics company Zipline, to check the year they have had since the launched medical drone logistics in partnership with the Bayelsa regional…

About investment into drone companies

After years of exponential financial injections, investment in drone technology companies across the world seems to be slowing down, according to the below report from Drone Industry Insights. It could…

Formula Drone on the Cards?

Okay; we do admit that was a bit click-baity. We know there is a already a drone racing league going on somewhere in the world (although it does take place…

State of the drone market: Agriculture

Commercial drone industry research company Drone Industry Insights’ report on the state of the drone market in agriculture is out; and we are going to dive straight into it. Trigger…

Drones and sewer inspections

Swiss company Flyability – the makers of commercial drones for data collection in confined spaces – have nuggets to share with regards the benefits of drone technology when applied to…

Delta Scan and the Johannesburg explosion

We know we have covered this before, but it is still a matter of national pride that South African inspection engineering start-up Dela Scan has made it to the case…

Elios 3 underground in Brussels

In the below case study, a company took Flayability’s Elios 3 drone under the city of Brussels in Belgium, in a massive project to help the city become smarter. An…

About UAM, RAM and AAM

As drone manufacturers, service providers, aviation authorities and related stakeholders continue with their groping efforts in their attempts to finger the pulse on the best ways to integrate drone technology…

State of the Drone Market: North America

Continuing with its coverage of regional and national drone markets across the world, Drone Industry Insights has decided to open with new year with a glimpse (and they do insist…

The drone space in 2023

The guys at research company drone Industry Insights are back for the new year; and their first item on the agenda is to… Look back at the old year. And…

Policing drones: Nuggets from DJI

The following article is a reproduction of an article from a small drone manufacturing company out of China. The company is called DJI and you may have heard of it….

RocketDNA’s 2024 Drone Industry Outlook

We like the fact that – despite the company’s heavy focus on serving industry skewed towards drone applications in remote sensing – RocketDNA actually has an eye out for the…

DJI’s (umpteenth) clarification on data security concerns

You feel this is a story that will never go away. Which we sadly admit is a tacit acknowledgement of our bleak outlook on the possibility of a future where…

DJI launches DJI Modify for survey professionals

World leading commercial drone manufacturing company DJI has released new software for survey professionals, to go with the drones that have made to collect data in the survey and mapping…

Saving drug overdose victims with drones

We have reported incidents before of drone technology being used to save the lives of heart attack patients via the timely delivery of defibrillators to the scene; rather than sending…

Drone Professional 4 now out

Just leaving this plug out here for a bunch of our friends in the drone industry that contributed to the latest edition of the Drone Professional anthology. The book is…

Underground mapping with the Elios 3

The below case study was taken from Flyability, whose drone, the Elios 3, was used to survey and map out the old workings on a mine in New York USA….

DJI cargo drone set for worldwide release

When news broke that DJI were adding a delivery series to their inventory of unmanned aircraft systems, we went high and wide to bring you the story – even when…

Long Read: Drones in border management operations

Our friends at JOUAV are back with nuggets on the effectiveness of drone technology in border management operations. The insights are well worth your time. The evolution of border patrol…

Long Read: LiDAR vs Photogrammetry in 3D mapping

The below article – a brilliant look into the application of LiDAR and photogrammetry in remote sensing – was supplied by JOUAV, a drone manufacturing company based in China. We…

Measuring the impact of Zipline’s medical drone operations

The below research article is a plug for the contribution Zipline has made to healthcare delivery infrastructure of the countries in which it has established operations. These countries include Rwanda,…

State of the drone report: South Africa

Finally. In a way, the opening statement below from Drone Industry Insights is just a fact: there are very little headlines about the commercial African drone space, if at all….

JOUAV launches new multipurpose UA

Chinese industrial drone maker JOUAV has released a new multi-purpose industrial drone, the PH-20, which the company hopes will raise the level in industrial applications. According to the manufacturer, the…

Drone fishing back in the headlines

So the debate for and against the use of drone technology in South Africa rages on. After the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) reminded stakeholders that there…

Ranking the drone manufacturers

The article below from the good people at Drone Industry Insights is their polite way of reminding the world commercial drone manufacturers exist in the world – outside of the…

Just how many flights have all commercial drones in the world completed?

We have read how Zipline, the leading drone logistics company in the world, has boasted about its well over one million flights worldwide. By comparison, Wing – another drone logistics…

Hands on with the DJI Dock

It is one thing watching a video of the DJI Dock at work, or reading what it can do. But physically laying your eyes on one and watching up close…

State of the drone industry report: Spain

Drone Industry Insights’ preliminary national and regional analysis of the commercial drone industry takes us to Spain today, and the initial results look promising. Spain’s drone market is blossoming. The…

State of the drone industry: Focus on UK

In their continuing series of a closer scrutiny into how the drone industry is faring in specific countries and regions, researchers at Drone Industry Insights have lifted the lid of…

Fore creatives: hail the new DJI Mini 4 Pro

World leading drone maker DJI has released the DJI Mini 4 Pro drone, a 249gram machine, which the manufacturer says is perfect for creatives. Below is the press release issued…

Skydio launches the Skydio X10

American enterprise drone maker Skydio has released the Skydio X10 as their latest offering for the enterprise market. It is a machine the manufacturer is really keen to make sure…

BARS on UAV Aerial Works’ shoulders

Do you understand how much military and police services people love their bars? Of course, it would be hard to understand if you have never been a member of the…

About commercial drones in Colombia

They already have a Flying Labs representative among their midst, so Colombia must be doing something right in their contribution towards the drone industry in the global south. It is…

DII’s drone barometer survey is out

The results of Drone Industry Insights’ 2023 Drone Barometer Survey are out. And here is the long and short of it – a few more people are finding employment in…

Getting ahead: Of Latin America’s resilient delivery drone industry

As in Africa, there are countries in Latin America that are beset by transport challenges; a situation that has given an opportunity for drone technology to thrive, especially in the…

When to use a drone for crop spraying

… and, maybe, when not to? For those farmers and agriculture professionals still thinking of whether or not to choose drone technology to replace traditional crop spraying methods, the article…

GLOBHE, UNICEF, mapping out flood-prone areas in Malawi

Countries in Southern Africa – particularly those close to the Indian Ocean – have suffered devastating loss of lives, property and untold damage to infrastructure, owing to unwelcome annual visits…

Aerobotics launches new precision agriculture platform

South African precision agriculture software provider Aerobotics is looking to make further inroads into the US market with the release of its Aeroview platform, which will come as part of…

State of drone investment in 2023

One of the big reasons why we love to present reports from research company, Drone Industry Insights as they are is that they always give us a sober analysis of…

DJI enters cargo drone game

Any of you guys remember a story we carried a few months ago, where a Chinese solar installation company used a drone to transport solar panels 300metres from the foot…

Drone industry outlook 2023

Our ever-analytic pals at Drone Industry Insights have released their latest take on the direction the drone industry has been taking in 2023. It is going up. But what we…

On this Women’s Day in South Africa…

Today’s Drone of Reason is a no-brainer: August 9 every year is Women’s Day in South Africa, a day which derives its superpowers to the women’s marching protest in 1956;…

The state of drone regulation in 2023

Researchers at Drone Industry Insights have released their analysis of the state of drone regulation in 2023, and below is their report. Drone regulations are structured so that binding aviation…

Do drones need parachutes?

Today we’re gonna talk drone parachutes. You know, those pieces of material that are practically the airbags for drones – you hope they never get to flap open; but want…

Enter the DJI Air 3

The world’s biggest drone maker DJI has released a new drone, the DJI Air 3, the successor to the Air 2S whose aerial imaging prowess the manufacturer claims are enhanced…

The challenge of rethinking drone technology in Africa

We love this – questions about drone technology in Africa are moving beyond just the hype to the hard yards needed to scale up drone operations in every facet of…

Drone researcher asks… What is an typical drone company?

We are so hurt. We feel betrayed and let down and disappointed and upset and saddened and… everything that dispirits a person’s soul. We thought the guys over at Drone…

Impact of Chinese drone bans in the US

It is a reality of the world we live in today that there is very little to no love lost between the USA and China; a situation that has spilled…

Dronamics’ dream come true

Like the kids of today would say; find somebody who commits to you like the Rangelov brothers committed to getting the Black Swan cargo drone soaring into the skies. Or…

How have the drones optimised how we work?

Just how useful has drone technology been to various industrial applications? We do know how military grade drones have changed and are continuing to change the face of warfare forever….

DJI launches Matrice industrial drone

The world’s biggest industrial drone manufacturer, DJI, has launched yet another new drone; this time on the Matrice range. The new DJI Matrice 350 RTK (M350RTK) is supposed to be…

About that last-metre delivery question

Drone technology has worked out the equation of getting packages to where they are needed in record time. But the question still remains on how do you actually get a…

Drones on the stock market, Part 3

So; how have the drone companies and drone services providers listed on stock exchanges been performing in the past year. The good people at research company Drone Industry Insights have…

DroneDeploy’s community projects in South Africa, Malawi

Last year, drone services company DroneDeploy helped train at least 40 young South Africans on how to fly drones and use them to collect data The project was part of…

The importance of medical drones to remote communities

Non-Governmental health care organisation VilageReach’s Global Technical team Director Tapiwa Mukwashi recently went on a canoe ride in the DRC, a journey which gave him a practical appreciation of the…

Drone tech, security and countering drone threats

Police in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have busted a syndicatethat was using a drone to smuggle gold nuggets into the country. Xinhua quoted the public security bureau of…

Drone training schools in Africa

We have been getting a lot of enquiries from readers who wish to know where they can get training for various occupations in the drone space. So we have listed…

Drone Industry Insights’ 2022 UAV stock performance report

Our friends at Drone Industry Insights have released their latest report for publicly traded drone stocks for the year 2022. But as they reiterate below; this is just their educated…

DJI’s Mavic 3 Pro is for storytellers

Industrial drones are mostly about data collection; and one of the most important data collection implements that can be saddled on a drone is the camera. So DJI went on…

Skyports and Advanced Aerial Mobility

The below article, which first appeared in International Airport Review, is an interview with Skyports’ Sanjay Suresh, General Manager APAC, Skyports Drone Services, and Pedro Cascales Dominguez, Senior Vertiport Planner….

Introducing drone technology to banana plantations

It is good news for banana producing countries in Africa; especially those in west and central Africa. Agriculture technology company XAG – the manufacturer of the XAG agricultural drone –…

Made for Hollywood: DJI’s Inspire 3 is here

Drone maker DJI has released its third iteration of the Inspire drone range, which it says is actually a perfect movie-making camera mounted on a drone. And just to reiterate…

Drone start-up finds new way to inspect solar farms

A South African drone services start-up says it has found a new way to inspect, monitor and maintain a solar power plant. Cape Town-based Integrated Aerial Systems (IAS) specialises in…

Drone rescues lost hikers in Table Mountain

By now, we figure there are a lot of people who are really grateful that the Western Cape Government Emergency Medical Services department in South Africa endured the rigorous Remote…

Harnessing the power of drones for Africa’s future

The below article was taken from africanDRONE, an organisation that seeks to empower drone entrepreneurs in Africa by networking them together into a self-help association that can share resources and knowledge….

Drone technology and bridge inspection

The below article was taken from Skydio. As our infrastructure continues to age, it becomes increasingly important to find innovative ways to inspect and maintain it. One technology that has…

Latest on investment in drone technology

Our friends over at Drone Industry Insights have released their drone investment report for the past year. Although not doing so at a rate as exponential as it has done…

Drones as first responders

Because of the heartbreaking Turkish and Syrian disaster brought about by the resent earthquake in these two countries, we figured this might be the time to look at how drone…

Crop spraying drones on a vineyard

The case study below from our friends at XAG shows the results that returned when the effectiveness of crop spraying drones was tested on a vineyard New Zealand. As wine…

Policing drones for Gauteng, South Africa

Sometimes you just have to laugh. It might sound incredible, but we can assure you that even before we started perusing the State of the Province Address document for South…

About that Advanced Air Mobility…

Today’s analysis from Drone Industry Insights is about Advanced Air Mobility. Basically, it is about the integration of passenger and cargo drones into busy urban skies and the freer atmospheres…

Delta Drone ropes in partner to expand European and African reach

…While Draganfly spreads into India Delta Drone – the France-based parent company of African drone services giant Delta Drone international has just announced that it will be distributing drone-based Appliances,…

Drone regulations outlook 2023

Yea; we know we’ve been away for a while. Perhaps we need to apologise for that, but… maybe some other time. Happy new year everyone. While we were away, our…

Investing in the drone business

Africa might not be there yet when it comes to the design and manufacturing side of things; but it will always take some of the credit for providing a good…

Zipline, Aerodyne dominate DII 2022 drone rankings

Research company Drone Industry Insights has released its top drones for the delivery – and keen followers of the drone technology will be little surprised to learn that it is…

New Mavic 3 Multispectral tailor-made for precision agriculture

Another day; another drone from our Lord and Saviour, DJI. The drone manufacturing conglomerate’s agriculture wing has launched the DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral, which the company says will be the…

Bringing crop spraying drones to Brazilian farmers

Chinese precision agriculture solutions provider XAG is working farmers in Brazil to spearhead the adoption of drone and related robotic technology in the industry. In the below article, the company…

DJI’s Mavic 3 Enterprise is out

Chinese drone maker, DJI, has released the enterprise series of its Mavic 3 model of drones, which can apparently fly for 45 minutes. Below is what the manufacturer had to…

Deploying drones to the volcanoes

The below article was written by Fiona D’Arcy and originally appeared in The Conversation. Fiona is a PhD candidate in Earth Sciences at McGill University. Volcanic eruptions cannot be predicted…

Drones and mine waste storage facilities inspection

In the aftermath of the Jagersfontein flooding disaster, where the tailings dam wall collapsed and mining waste sludge flooded a nearby residential area in South Africa’s Free State Province, we…

XAG takes the P100 to Vietnam

Chinese industrial drone maker XAG are taking their P100 agricultural drone to the world, and they were in Vietnam recently. Below is the manufacturer’s account of how the sojourn went….

Drone camp for underprivileged kids in Zimbabwe

Many readers will remember the Global Air Drone Academy (GADA) as a drone training institution that has been working with the American Embassy to conduct drone technology bootcamps in Zambia…

Wing CEO on the future of drone delivery

The CEO and former CTO of Alphabet’s drone subsidiary Wing, Adam Woodworth recently spoke to journalists, analyst, author and speaker John Koetsier on his company’s vision for drone delivery, on…

Drones in real estate

Did you know that there is money to be earned as a drone photographer in real estate? Our experts at DJI reckon there is a niche for aerial drone photography…

Your Avata is here…

Here is what DJI have to say about their new product, the Avata Drone and its accessories, the DJI Goggles 2 and the DJI Motion Controller. DJI, the world’s leader…

Considerations on integrating drones into urban airspaces

With many urban settlements in the world making plans for the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles in their airspaces, an analyst has made the plea for more research and wider…

Taking the South African drone economy to the next level

The below article originally appeared on IT-Online and was written by Dean Conde, UTM lead at iOCO Digital. A Johannesburg-based subsidiary of technology services giant, EOH, iOCO is an information…

DJI’s Drone Industry Report, 2021

DJI has released its 2021 industry report for agricultural drones. It is a really good read, and we reproduce it below. Industry Background From “plant protection drones” to “agricultural drones”…

Zimbabwe drone stakeholders converge

Having warmed up to drone technology at the first ever drone conference held in Zimbabwe last November, Zimbabwe will converge in Harare again starting today to discuss latest development in…

Revisiting drones in construction

The construction industry has carried the tag of being the most technology-shy industry ever. Somehow, professionals in the industry love working with their bare hands, as they do the comfortable…

Unlocking the real value of drone technology

Debate has been swelling up within drone industry circles on the place of human pilots along the drone value chain. Informal conversations with drone services providers have indeed revealed the…

About those fire-fighting drones

We love to follow the latest trends in the application of drone technology in various industries. And the more we here from experts, drone manufacturers and Original Equipments manufacturers themselves,…

Tips for drone services start-ups

Drone expert Callum Holland has shared the below nuggets for entrepreneurs hoping to crack the code in offering drone services to clients. Callum himself has run a drone services business…

In defence of delivery drones

Harrison Wolf is a drone technology optimist. Now the Director of Global Aviation Policy at leading drone logistics company Zipline, Mr Wolf has been in the drone industry for over…

Drone use in manufacturing

With the drone global market having an expected worth of 15 billion US dollars by 2022, it seems the industry will soon be expanding into another niche market soon –…

When in Namibia…

Of course, you have to do what the Namibians do. The Namibian Drone Academy has shared some very useful information about tourists wishing to fly drones while visiting Namibia. We…

How to thermal: Insights from DJI

This will be a bit of a long read; but it is from the experts. DJI Enterprise has shared pointers on how to use thermal imaging with drone technology, and…

About those drone jobs…

We know that the drone industry is a growing industry worldwide, with commercial applications for drones that are taking over tasks that we may not have imagined before. But where…

In her own words: Drone Diva Programme graduate speaks

Tshwane-based non-profit organisation Africa Beyond the 4th Industrial revolution (AB4IR) is playing its part in bridging the digital divide in South Africa by empowering communities through technology, innovation and incubation….

Calling the drone industry to action

We reproduce the below article from drone technology expert Callum Holland, which we can only conclude is a toast to players in the drone industry who are not afraid to…

Drone-based solutions for cassava production in Cambodia

Our experts at agricultural drone services developer and provider XAG made a stopover in Cambodia on their world tour to bring drone-based solutions to precision agriculture. Below is an account…

FIXAR launches long range, multi-purpose industrial drone

Latvian drone company FIXAR Global has released a autonomous new long range eVTOL drone, the FIXAR 025, which it says was made with large-scale missions for commercial and industrial applications….

When the Avy Aera made a stopover in Benin

…working with authorities to expedite medical drone logistics Remember the story we covered a while back about how the Benin government was trying drone technology to curb maternal mortality in…

Pointers on drone use in livestock management

We are used to unmanned aerial systems in agriculture flying over our farms, their containers laden with liquid spray to be applied over crops. If not spraying, the drones are…

The case for – and against – drone fishing

We do remember that the subject of drone fishing is a hot one in South Africa right now, following the ban on the use of drones during fishing expeditions by…

New confined space drone from Flyability

Lausanne, SWITZERLAND – Flyability, the Swiss maker of confined space drone technology has released the Elios 3, the third offering in the company’s Elios range of drones. We know we…

Cultivating trust in autonomous drone systems

It is a question that has kept many an aviation regulator all over the world awake at night. How to keep the lower skies safe in the face of an…

DJI drops the Mini 3 Pro

Today is DJI Mini 3 Pro Day. The world’s biggest drone maker DJI has just announced the release of its much-anticipated drone in the smallest range – the DJI Mini…

IAP: Changing precision agriculture through drone technology in Nigeria

One of the biggest reasons why drone technology has been quick to take root in Africa has been the maximum and quick gains garnered at a fraction of the cost…

Construction drones: next level roof analysis

After three long days of flashing smiles, mixing handshakes and pandemic-friendly elbow bumps, and talking about their vision for the future of roofing, John Kiesel and Ryan Resides could finally…

Adding drone precision to rice farming

The experts from agricultural drone manufacturer, XAG have shared the below use case, where their drones are helping rice farming efforts in Vietnam. Dong Thap, VIETNAM – As the monsoon…

Drone applications in agriculture

From senseFly Drones are fast becoming a crucial tool in agriculture, but how do you know if they are the right choice for your business? Olivia Soares de Camargo, Customer…

Top industries for drone applications revealed

So; which industries have taken drone technology like a duck to water? Many might be tempted to ask this question, as if the answer were completely straightforward. However, defining the…

Step-by-step: The growing importance of medical drones

We all know what medical drones have done to communities in Africa that badly needed medical supplies to be delivered in time to save lives in locations that are usually…

The journey so far: drone technology in Africa

Now and again, somebody comes up with a comprehensive accounting of the journey travelled by the drone industry in Africa so far, where it is now; and where it is…

Investing in drones on the stock market

Thinking of investing in drone technology? Should be a bummer for you then, that you cannot buy shares for DJI at any stock exchange whatsoever. But there are drone companies…

Insurance and the drone industry

We all love drones, for all the interminable reasons they have made the work load bearable in various industrial and humanitarian operations. You can literally pick any story on this…

DJI’s M30: The baby that Matrice and Mavic made

It was all about the payload when DJI finally unveiled its new flagship unmanned aerial vehicle for enterprise users yesterday. As earlier rumoured, the new DJI Matrice30 drone is like…

Bringing margnalised communities into the 21st Century

A youth organisation in Cape Town, South Africa is opening up possibilities for young people in the Cape Flats area in the city by introducing them to the world of…

Inside India’s dream for a wholly local drone ecosystem

The Indian government recently went ahead with a ban for all commercial drone imports, instead hoping the local industry would be enough for all drone-based needs for the local market….

Drones and wildlife conservation

This is a brilliant article about drone the enormous work drones are doing in wildlife conservation. It was written by Kathryn Hulick and first appeared in Science News for Students….

Drone technology and energy infrastructure

The use of drones for energy infrastructures is and will continue to be the leading market for drone technology throughout the world. This is due to both the societal importance…

The world of passenger drones

Passenger drone manufacturers are promising to give us personal air transport without the need for a pilot. It almost feels like the flying cars we’ve all wished for at one…

Protecting your airspace from trespassing drones

Following reports that a political leader in South Africa has opened a police case after he spied a drone suspiciously making rounds around his home, and the pleas from the…

New player enters the medical drone game

Mirko Cesena can personally testify that he has had fun flying racing drones in championship drone racing all over the world, and indeed he had with small manned aircraft too….

Drones and fire-fighting efforts

Yesterday, we had an account of how drone technology can be valuable in heavy rain and flooding situations; their most recent helping hand coming in the aftermath of the cyclones…

In his own words: Drone start-up in the eye of Cyclone Ana

We have previously covered Dumisani Kaliati here as one of the many success stories from the African Drone and Data Academy in Malawi. And we also covered him in a…

Investment in drone industry continues to grow

We are worried; and we believe it is for a good reason. Maybe worried a strong word at this point in time, but we are certainly concerned. As you will…

Integrating drone technology into busy airspaces

We all know how hard it is to predict what a human mind get do; and we are looking at the people who abuse drones for criminal and nuisance purposes…

Grounding errant drones

We have been covering too many articles about drone abusers of late; and we feel it is only natural to remind people out there that there is technology that is…

A guide to Point Clouds in drone surveying

We love the below guide from Heliguy for survey professionals, which we believe survey professionals will find really useful when choosing a drone and data capturing implements during survey operations….

2021 – The year of managing expectations?

Below is the voice of the experts at Drone Industry Insights taking stock of what the year 2021 brought for the drone industry. What did the news reveal about the…

Drone solutions for precision agriculture

When it comes to feeding the world’s ever-growing population, farmers deserve all the help they can get. To get the best out of every inch of farmland, modern farmers are…

Drones and firefighting operations

In the aftermath of the fire that gutted part of the library at the University of Cape Town last May, drones flew in to assess the damage. The data captured…

Drone technology in the classroom

From Scott Buell, Founder and CEO, Drone Legends Every time something new, innovative or high-tech comes into the picture, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) community gets excited. Because…

Crowd-droning and the fight against malaria in Malawi

Malaria has been a deadly scourge of a disease, especially to citizens of low-income countries. Transmitted through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito, malaria was responsible for the deaths…

Canada: Enforcing the law from above

Toronto Police’s drone programme taking policing to new levels Imagine growing up in the Roaring 20s — a time when automobiles had recently replaced horse-drawn carriages and families gathered around…

Fighting Yellow Fever in the DRC

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government joined hands with non-profit organisation VillageReach in 2020 to launch the Drones for Health Programme, in which drone technology would be used to…

Drone technology in 2021

On its outlook, 2021 was a year which we hoped that one thing that had dragged our lives back in 2020 would finally be on its way to hell.  …

Drone Technology and Tactical De-escalation

Lt. Will Huddler is an 18-year law enforcement veteran at a large metropolitan police agency in the southwest United States. He has led the investigations of over 30 officer-involved shootings…

Counter-drone operations

At the Security Drone Conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa recently, Sam Husseini, Regional Sales Director for Middle East, Africa, and Turkey at airspace security company Dedrone gave a comprehensive…

Latest DJI ban escalates data security war between China and USA

Another year ending – and DJI has been added to yet another list by the federal USA government, looking to clip one more rotor on the world’s biggest drone maker’s…

Parrot’s ANAFI Ai drone now available for pre-order

French-based drone company Parrot, the leading European manufacturer of unmanned aerial systems has announced that its new drone, the ANAFI Ai is now available for pre-order, ahead of its release…

About those Bee Vee LOS flights…

When starting out using drones for your business, it’s important to know their capabilities — and limits. Sometimes, limitations are not technological, but legal. Operating drones Beyond Visual Line of…

Mapping and surveying complex environments

Latvian drone and drone software company FIXAR has been out testing its flagship outdoor drone, the FIXAR 007 on a number of use cases in land surveying and mapping. The…

LiDAR, drone technology and the industrial revolution

Machines are performing more and higher-level functions with each passing year, and with greater autonomy. But autonomous or not, for many of these machines to operate effectively and safely, they…

Protecting drone technology from bad people

We all understand that technology usually comes in to make tasks generally easier for humans and plug the gaps that handicapped them from achieving human, economic and social progress before…

The DJI Mavic 3 is here…

Sadly, we have not yet laid our hands on the new DJI Mavic 3 to make independent reviews yet, so for this one, we will rely on the testimony of…

Drone technology and the route to sustainable supply chains

The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and worsening climate change have strained supply chains past their breaking point, and the challenge of resiliency and access to life-critical goods is more…

Drone technology and fly-on cover cropping

This one is for all you innovative farmers out there looking to try out new ways to conserve their farm lands. It is a testimony by Ohio, USA farmers who…

Getting smarter: the growth of Artificial Intelligence in drone technology

The article below offers some really great insights about how drone technology is growing to be a really smart and game changing technology whose continued development is set to change…

Volansi working on niche drone delivery market as race scales up

American cargo drone maker Volansi are the only company in Africa whose drone delivery service does not involve medical supplies. Their work in Senegal, where they acquired an operating certificate…

Israel prepares its skies for commercial drone boom

Airforce veterans in drone powerhouse Israel are translating their know-how to the delivery of sushi and ice-cream, as companies tap their expertise to avoid collisions in increasingly crowded skies. On…

The importance of security drones for businesses

Yesterday, we chronicled the journey in the young life of a young American start-up who – in three short years – has changed the game for tactical response to dangerous…

The hidden costs of instant deliveries

It is just a fact of our lives today that instant gratification drives how we consume almost everything. We want our news delivered now; the food we have ordered to…

Tips for using Search and Rescue drones

Of course, they are from DJI; the company makes some of the best Search and Rescue drones there are in the world. They have shared with us some pointers on…

Unitrans Africa adds to its drone fleet

Multinational company UNITRANS are stepping up their precision agriculture game in Africa by purchasing a fleet of the biggest sprayer drones that DJI has to offer. The new fleet of…

FIXAR’s multi-purpose drone and its service to agriculture

A few days ago, we reported that Latvian drone company, FIXAR had developed a black box technology for its multi-purpose outdoor drone, which would will vastly improve traceability and accountability…

Ravens declare war on drones in Australia

With all these developments about the drone industry working with other stakeholders to safely integrate drone technology in the busy airspaces of world cities, one would think all the relevant…

Turning the wheels of innovation; the VillageReach way

The VillageReach president, Emily Bancroft is right – it might be sound like a tired cliché, but necessity really is the mother of all invention. Ms Bancroft feels it is…

IAS and the growth of drone technology in agriculture

We are sure most of you will remember the recent coverage we did of Cape Town-based drone services company, Integrated Aerial Systems (IAS) being named among the 50 winners of…

5G networks and the future of drone technology

If you think drone technology is indispensable for some industries today, just wait until it is fitted with the superpowers of 5G network technology. In words of simple syllable, it…

Opportunities for cargo drones in middle-distance logistics

It has been a while since the world first learned about Volocopter’s Volodrone; a mid-range cargo and agricultural drone was supposed to the game changer in middle distance cargo logistics….

Drones as first responders? They work

Remember the story we covered last year about Canadian drone company, Drone Delivery Canada announcing that it had made successful trials to use drone technology as a first responder in…

Drone technology and the construction industry

For some, the construction industry is a notoriously slow adopter of technology. In recent time, the most exciting technological development to disrupt the industry may have been 3D printing only;…

Drone technology in agriculture, construction and environmental conservation

Gleaned from Commercial UAV News, this article was written by AgEagle CEO, Brandon Torres Declet, who looks at the prospects of drone technology in three industries – agriculture, infrastructure and…

Qualcomm avails flight platform to make your drone as smart as the Ingenuity Mars helicopter

This one goes out to all the smart people in Africa who are leading the race to make the first perfect drone made in Africa. We know we already have…

The case for mining drones

Drones in mining operations are used for a varied range of applications: from exploration, surveying and mapping to maintaining safety and enhancing security. Different unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are equipped…

European delivery drone sector stumbles

as Amazon, DHL, close operations Callum Holland – a fifteen-year veteran of unmanned aviation technology and head of Flight Operations at Thales UK – did warn us not long ago…

Security drones and job security

Security drones have been good to humans. Well… most of them anyway. They have saved lives. They have saved people from dangerous situations. They have implored people to be careful…

Swoop Aero releases the Kite

The question of whether it is a plane or a bird has been answered. It is a kite. No; really. We are serious. Or rather, Swoop Aero are serious; because…

De-mining drones gaining more traction

Twice now, we have written about how drone technology has been deployed to clean up in two African countries looking to erase the tragic remnants of civil war. We have…

The journey so far – cargo drones in Africa

…according to Denise Soesilo One of the founders of Outsight International – a consulting and project management company for the humanitarian and development sector – Denise Soesilo is a world-renowned…

The future of delivery drones

Spoiler alert… it is bright. The World Economic Forum has clearly warmed up to the arrival of drone technology as an economic force on the world stage. Now the world…

Cultivating community trust in humanitarian drones

Humanitarian drones have been the most common way of introducing drone technology in most communities in the Global South. The drones have been mostly used for purposes like disaster response…

Spotlight on DeltaScan

While industry players are having a hard time haggling with aviation authorities safely integrate drone operations into urban skylines, the situation is quite different when your company flies its drones…

Making technology work in the security industry

Security of persons. Security of property It was the hottest topic at the Drones and Unmanned Aviation Conference this year. And of course, it had to be. As Kim James…

Drone companies and the quest for medical delivery in Africa

It was just the thing you would have loved to see on a lukewarm Johannesburg mid-morning whose tepid sunshine you were likely never going to feel, because you were going…

Four days until #DUACon2021

It is looks set to be a really important week for the drone community in Southern Africa, with the Drones and Unmanned Aviation Conference (dubbed the DUA Con) just four…

Drone, robotics technology and the African child

The continent of Africa might have missed out on many development opportunities over the course of history, due to various reasons beyond its people’s control – slavery and colonisation being…

Drones stepping in to fill the transport gap in Africa

By Aiga Stokenberga; Economist, Transport Global Practice; World Bank Group; and Maria Catalina Ochoa; Senior Urban Transport Specialist at the World Bank Group Transport and logistics links in Africa remain…

Drone technology and the law in Rwanda, Tanzania

The following article, which first appeared on ICT Works, analyses the trajectories of drone technology development in Tanzania and Rwanda – two of East Africa’s leading countries when it comes…

The eruption at Mt Nyiragongo

About twelve kilometres away from Goma – the capital of Northern Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – lies an unpredictable neighbour. A mountain with a penchant…

About drone-in-a-box and other commercial drone applications

Two hundred and thirty-seven. That is the number of applications drone technology can do for humans now, as found out by research company Drone Industry Insights recently. “Remember when the…

Drone technology and the law in Africa

In the article below, first published by Drone Life, Kim James, the Director of UAV Aerial Works, and drone law experts share their experiences with the legal side of the…

Drones in the medical sector

There is no need to waste your time explaining the below article from American consulting firm, Pukka Partners. It is a great summary of of the state of the medical…

Cape Town fire aftermath: drones fly in to assess the damage

The Cape Town resident watched helplessly as the fire swooped on his home, turning everything in its path into ash and cinder. The fire had raged all day, engulfing South…

Lessons learned from medical drone logistics in Africa

Tip of the hat of the hat to the Inter Drone Podcast for scoring this video with Harrison Wolf, one of the world’s top voices on medical drone logistics. An…

Partnership deal to transform African agriculture

Drone technology has been identified as one of the important modern digital implements that can be used by young Africans and women to improve food security on the continent. This…

TerraCam drones to the world

Most folks in South Africa woke up to the reality of drone technology around 2015, when its applications to various commercial ventures were beginning to attract regulatory attention. But for…

Fighting malaria in Africa

Some grim statistics to commemorate this year’s April 25. It is World Malaria Day last Sunday; and Africa has not covered itself in glory when it comes to fighting the…

Wingcopter unveils new delivery drone

Wingcopter has unveiled a new bird today. It is called the Wingcopter 198, a successor to the Wingcopter 178, which was released two years ago. Not that there is anything…

Youth drive to promote drone technology in Africa

The article below follows the story of young drone entrepreneurs who are part of the AfricanDRONE Youth Scholar, a World Bank-support programme that promotes the use of drones on the…

VillageReach looks back on a tough year

2020 marked the 20th year in which VillageReach has been operating in Africa – and it was by far the toughest they ever faced. The non-profit organisation – launched in…

Drones and utility infrastructure inspections

One area in which drone technology has proved its usefulness since it arrived on the scene has been in the way it has made some jobs safer for humans, who…

Calling on you, drone family…

Morning all. A bit of a heavy one to start today. We have a dream for the story of the drone in Africa. Not the war drone, no. Africa has…

Blazing the drone trail with Suzanne von Rauenstein

Suzanne von Rauenstein used to fly helicopters. She still does to be honest. But these days most of her time is spent behind the controls of a drone, as she…

What happened to the drone industry during the pandemic?

It is now official – the year 2020 was terrible for humans. It was great for drone business. With the benefit of hindsight, we know we would have done a…

Women and Drones Fireside Chat with Kim James

If you do not know what Women and Drones Africa Chapter’s Fireside Chats are about; they are the weekly orgy of female drone professionals and enthusiasts of drone technology on…

The focus is on the camera: DJI’s Air 2S is here

Seeing as we have not laid our hands on the new DJI Air 2S yet (your fault DJI), we will have to take DJI’s words on it for now. Which…

SA wildlife conservation trust hits ground running following RPAS certification

Organisation to use drones to drop flappers on power cables in bid to save birds Three years. That is what it took for the Endangered Wildlife Trust to obtain their…

Drone Diva Desi to address the Drones Conference

The 2021 edition of the Drones and Unmanned Aviation Conference – set for June 24 and 25 in Johannesburg, South Africa – is pulling out all the stops to ensure…

Drones and the construction world

When thinking about tech-forward industries, construction is likely not the first sector to come to mind. The industry has been notorious for its historically pedestrian uptake of modern technology, remaining…

ADDA alumni blazing own path in Malawi

At the Africa Drone and Data Academy (ADDA) – the first and to date the only school in Africa dedicated to teaching African youth about drone technology – they do…

Trailbazing Women: Virginie Uwimana, Namibia Flying Labs

This week on Trailblazing Women, Women and Drones Africa Chapter’s weekly interaction with African female drone industry players, Louise chats with Virginie Uwimana, founder of Namibian drone services company Kanie…

Kim’s take on security drones in 2021

Reproduced below is the ‘Drone Chick’ Kim James’ take on drone technology in the security industry in South Africa. You know those kind of drones – the ones that keep…

Deloitte’s steps to scaling sustainable drone delivery operations in Africa

It seems like there is trouble in paradise for most drone delivery projects in Africa. Not for Zipline though. Zipline’s operations in Rwanda, Ghana and lately, Nigeria, are fine; and…

Zimbabwean agric drone start-up happy to be flying over fields again

The last time they were out, the maize crop in Zimbabwe was just a green shoot feeling the sun’s warmth for the first time and barely a few centimetres above…

Drones surveying damage to the West African coastline

None of the drones being used to map out the scale of land degradation on the west African coastline have yet to endure the drowning ordeal this legend had to…

Drones and their place in dangerous working environments

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation into an accident where a Squirrel helicopter struck a powerline pole and crushed to the ground, killing the pilot in the process –…

FPV drone flies over boiling Iceland volcano

A volcano that has been sleeping peacefully for the last 800 has blown its crater in Iceland – and a drone was there to capture some incredible video footage of…

In conversation with Sonet Kock

Sonet Kock knows the law. Especially as it applies to drone technology in South Africa. Bottom line; you wanna listen to Sonet talking drones. The founder of AviComply, a consulting…

Uganda Flying Labs try hand on livestock management using drones

Remember those good old days of our fledgling boyhood lives in rural Africa? Days filled with youthful exuberance innocence, which we spent flapping like fish in the natural pools, formed…

The case for medical drones in Africa

Morning folks. Today our attention has been drawn to a report from Zimbabwe, in Southern Africa where NewZWire reports that the government has so far failed to scratch the surface…

Right up the alley

We do not have much to say; but if you have no idea what they mean when they talk about regular drone footage and that of FPV drones, we have…

USA team awarded for safely delivering an organ by drone

A research team at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in the USA has been rewarded for trusting a drone to deliver an organ for a patient who had…

Analysing the data team behind life-saving drone flights

Keller Rinaudo, the CEO of fast-growing drone logistics company, Zipline could not have said it better: “All our customers really care about is whether something goes from point A to…

Women and the drone world

The drone business might have started as just a hobby for most men, but for many women, the journey has not always been that rosy. Yet, full with the knowledge…

The women of Flying Labs on International Women’s Day

For the past six years, humanitarian robotics non-profit organisation WeRobotics has been working really hard to empower local drone start-ups with the right tools for them satisfy all contracts, local…

DJI has not caught a cold in the USA yet – but for how long?

We all loved Romeo Durscher as the face of public safety drones during his time at DJI. Then – terrified of losing such an influential voice at time when the…

Lonely at the top: women and drone technology in Zimbabwe

When drone technology gained cult popularity with a small racing community in Harare, Zimbabwe around 2016, Diana Banda was of the pioneer drone racers to don the goggles and get…

Introducing the DJI FPV

Do you remember those alien fighter jets in the movie Independence Day? The new DJI FPV (first person view) drone looks like a miniature version of that. Not that it’s…

World trade body urges Africa to stay abreast with new technology

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned against the potential of emerging technologies creating a greater digital divide, alienating lower income countries – especially those in…

Reality check: Unmanned Air Mobility and the challenging road ahead

We do not think any professional in the delivery drone space was under any illusions about the amount of work that needs to be done until drones can be fully…

Show me your drone: In conversation with ADDA’s first graduate

We are sure there will come a time when the African Drone and Data Academy in Malawi will be the Harvard of Drone training in Africa, and people will walk…

Trouble in EHang paradise

Chinese drone maker fends off fraud allegations You could say something had to go wrong for the EHang fairy tale. The Chinese passenger drone manufacturing company had everything going for…

Women blazing the GIS industry with drone technology

Perhaps it was a good thing that Women and drones decided it was time they stretched their reach to other parts of the world outside the organisation’s home base in…

Update: NASA’s Perseverance makes safe touchdown on Mars

203 days ago, on July 30, 2020 in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Florida, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) largest and most advanced rover yet – the Perseverance…

UAV set for historic Mars landing

We know this might have nothing to do with Africa but (in Spider Man’s voice, just after he was snapped back to life and reunites with Mr Stark for the…

High time the African Union gave drone technology the real chance it deserves

We have a bone to chew with the African Union. Five years after the then AU Commission chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma appointed a panel of really smart people (they…

Drone helps save hiker on Table Mountain, Cape Town

It is February 15 today; exactly two months to the day the Western Cape Government Health’s Emergency Medical Services’ Drone Rescue Project were finally granted a Remote Pilot Aircraft Systems…

The 2021 drone horoscope: Africa edition

We all know what the year 2020 was like to all of humanity. We were all happy and looking forward to the start of another year – then just like…

Women and Drones Trailbazers chat: Zethu Gumede

From KwaZulu Natal with love. It is Zethu Gumede in the spotlight this week, in the latest instalment of Trailblazing Women on Women and Drones . A native of Kwazulu…

Drones lead landslide rescue efforts in biggest drone operation in Europe

Around 4AM in Norway on the 30th of December last year, a hillside gave way in the village of Ask in the Gjerdrum region in eastern Norway, about 30 kilometres…

Leading African drone professionals in conversation

They do not waste time, do they? Just a few days ago, Women and Drones announced the launch of its first international chapter in Africa; and today, the Women and…

Drones, 5G and smart cities

With drone technology making nothing of a necessarily miraculous rise in the past year, largely thanks to the need to feel the gap left by the imposition of lockdown restrictions…

The 2021 drone regulations landscape

Ever since drone technology started making solid inroads into the mainstream commercial and industrial operations, the laws governing them have been correspondingly revolving. In some parts, the regulatory changes have…

The case for BVLOS drone deliveries

In the below article, Elsight Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Roee Kashee presents the case for governments worldwide to allow beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone deliveries. Kashee argues…

Scared to enter the sewer? Roll in the caged drone!

Swiss drone manufacturer Flyability surely knows a thing or two about drones in hostile environments. From their inaugural GimBall – which rolled away from the 2015 Drones for Good in…

Niger’s Kountche has big plans for West African drone community

It is not every day that you find a former president’s grandchild staying in the national headlines for reasons that have nothing to do with politics and scandal; for most,…

On our way: Zipline’s quest to be the medical drone logistics company of choice

Anybody remember Bata? Of course, we are kidding. Who would claim not to know Bata, the shoe making company that – growing up – achieved the unique feat of convincing…

The 2021 drone horoscope

Kevin Sartori, co-founder of drone software company, Auterion has his, as well as world leading drone professionals’, outlook for the drone industry in the new year. By building an open-source…

Drones in 2020

2020 It has been a bit challenging as a year, hasn’t it? What with the global pandemic that sneaked upon humanity and set all its plans for the year awry….

Top humanitarian drone expert leaves DJI

It does feel like a death in the family; and it is in a way. Romeo Durscher – on of the most prominent evangelists for humanitarian drones in the world…

500 lives rescued – and still counting

It is a real shame that almost five years since drone technology started making inroads into the African continent, their success stories in official government and other public sector circles…

What should Africa do to win the Game of Drones?

The just ended Drones and Unmanned Aviation Conference 2021 had experts covering various issues that included the legislative and regulatory situation in Africa and in general and South Africa in…

Up and running… again

This will be a very, very, very quick and short one for you guys. We are delighted that the online magazine is up and running again, after almost a month…

Drones and climate change

When Dania Montenegro stepped out of the boat onto Gardi Sugdub, a tiny Caribbean island off the coast of Panama last fall, it was hurricane season. She walked through ankle-deep…

Flying Labs Network turns five

Nine thousand dead. 22,000 injured. Thousands and thousands of homes reduced to rubble; and hundreds of thousands of people left homeless. That’s was Nepal on April 25, 2015. It was…

UNDP’s tribute to African innovation in fighting COVID-19

Two drone technology enterprises have made the grade among 48 other ventures by young Africans whose innovative works to combat the COVID-19 scourge has been recognised in a special magazine…

Government role in growth of drone technology

Written by Joe Mariani, Research Manager, Centre for Government Insights at Deloitte; and Peter Liu, Managing Director, Deloitte Today’s drone technology owes its lineage to work at the Defense Advanced Research…

The eye in the sky

Drones have changed how we see the world. Even more profoundly, drones have transformed how we experience the world – how we decide the events that matter and create our…

DJI’s Schulman: Time for drone industry to come together

There is a Zimbabwean adage which goes, one man’s troubles will not stop another from eating. DJI has come to realise the truth of this saying of late, as they…

Drones for sustainable development in the Global South

The best way technology can witness an exponential growth for citizens of the Global South is by promoting local technological entrepreneurship. At least that is the submission of Leka Tingitana,…

EGLE drone drowned by eagle dredged

You know that drone which we reported to have lost turf war with a bald eagle and got drowned in lake Michigan? It was dredged up on Tuesday, muddy and…

Police drones cannot come soon enough

It was the sound of gunfire, dynamite and screams that woke residents of Esther Park this morning. The middle density suburb about a kilometre or so to the South of…

Celebrating the persevering will of Elong

Today, we celebrate the achievements of William Ndja Elong, a young Cameroonian whose dream of producing drones made in Africa has seen remarkable success. Elong is 27 now; but he…

What makes a good drone law?

Below we reproduce an article from Drone Industry Insights, a reputable business intelligence company offering insights into the commercial drone industry. The article was written by Millie Radovic, a Market…

Global pandemic inspires era of delivery drones

WASHINGTON – Cough medicine, snacks, baking ingredients: Kelly Passek has shopping delivered weekly to her yard in Christiansburg, Virginia – by a drone. The flying vehicle comes with little fuss,…

Drones in construction

Construction industry professionals have long envisioned technological disruption to address common challenges of time and cost overruns to construction productivity and material wastage. Gone are the days when tasks at…

Hands on with Inspire Africa’s Drone Coding tools

The Inspire Africa group is making a positive impact among school kids, mostly in Southern Africa today, through their STEAM education curriculum that allows the students to use drone technology…

Charging your drone battery – in five minutes

They did it with cell phones and electronic vehicles. Now Israeli fast charging battery technology pioneer StoreDot has made a drone battery that will charge in five minutes. On Wednesday,…

Fighting the drone-lash

Is banning drones on grounds of country of origin wise, or does it lead to false sense of security? The war for data control is chiefly because data is the…

The case for drone technology in mining

Fifty-one miners died in South Africa last year. In statistical terms, the figure has fallen to record lows, as safety standards have improved of late. But still, losing 51 breadwinners…

Armyworm war goes aerial in Zambia

A Zambian agriculture technology company has taken it upon itself to help eradicate the armyworm plague in the country. Operating out of the capital city of Lusaka, Sunagri Investments has…

Tree-planting drones for Madagascar’s lost forests

Madagascar used to be green. Really green. But no more. In the 2,000 short years that man landed on the East African island nation in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar has…

Drone Council SA to hit ground running

Commercial drones have become a big – a very big – business in the world, and South Africa wants a slice of the pie. In 2019, reputable research organisation, Research…

AcquahMeyer: From spraying crops to spraying market places

WASHINGTON – Towards the end of 2017 in Accra, Ghanaian pilot Eric Acquah founded AcquahMeyer Drone Tech, a crop spraying subsidiary of Acquahmeyer Aviation, which specialised on using drones to…

Cote d’Ivoire: Incorporating drones into the UTZ Certification Process

In the Ivory Coast, the UTZ Certified programme has called upon drone technology to help in expediting the certification for farmers who wish to comply with sustainable forming protocols that…

Saving the forests with Eden and DroneDeploy

CALIFORNIA – Los Angeles-based tree planting organisation, Eden Reforestation Projects, last week celebrated their fifteenth anniversary by announcing that they had planted over 333 million trees in the eight countries…

Inspecting the power grid in hotter temperatures

It is always summer time somewhere in the world; and while the summer season is always welcome for all the joys and opportunities it presents, energy companies the world over…

DJI keeps tabs with #DronesForGood

With one Ghislaine in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, it would be fair to assume that the world has forgotten about Ghislane Ihimbazwe, the little girl from Rwanda…

The drone age and Urban Air Mobility

Drones, personal flying vehicles and air taxis may be part of our everyday life in the very near future. Drones and air taxis will create new means of mobility and transport…

Government role in adopting drone technology into health delivery

The headlines are everywhere—there is a game changer in the fight against COVID-19. Drones are on their way to deliver samples and airdrop personal protective equipment (PPE), and are even…

Time for authorities to rethink drone policy

It has taken an event of almost biblical proportions to demonstrate just how much we truly rely on the care and services medical practitioners give us. But the pandemic has also…

Behold… the Drone Age cometh

We know drones are cool. But it seems, with the way drones have been employed in response to the devastation of COVID-19 – delivering emergency supplies, urging people to stay…

India slowly warming up to the goodness of drones

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, drones have proved to be quite utilitarian. Not only have they helped with surveillance and crowd control, but also have been used to…

Painting the skies red and white – the Zipline drone delivery story

American drone healthcare distribution company Zipline has been enjoying great success supplying life-saving emergency medicine and equipment in the East African states of Rwanda and Ghana, delivering blood and other…

Youth rising to the challenge of drones in Zimbabwe

Tawanda Chihambakwe. He is a young Zimbabwean who thought he was headed for a decent career in media and fintech, but a chance meeting with a drone changed all that….

Sprayer Drone for precision agriculture

Award-winning Zimbabwean drone start-up, Alley Capital Group are bringing a new dimension to farming in the country – aerial crop-dusting using drones. The founding duo of Piwai Chikasha and Takudzwa…

Hello World… We are Drones.R.Africa

Welcome to this, the home of African drone and UAV technology news, which we are opening amid the pomp and fanfare of… no pomp and fanfare at all. It is…

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